1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer, in particular an impact dot matrix, ink jet, laser or thermal transfer printer, with a printer housing and at least one connecting element provided on the printer housing, which connecting element has a locator device for an anchoring element for the attachment of an additional device or a peripheral unit.
2. Background Information
If a printer is used intensively, in particular for business purposes, additional devices or peripheral units are frequently required, such as cutting devices for labels, stackers to hold fan-fold paper, spools for winding and unwinding, feed rollers for printer paper, etc. In the past, these additional devices were bolted to the printer housing or simply placed next to it. Therefore, it would be a useful feature if the user were able to change the configuration of such a printer, adding peripheral devices as necessary.
One such device is disclosed in Japanese Patent 63 95973 A. In accordance with Japanese Patent 63 95973, a paper feed device is fastened to the upper side of a printer housing by means of a cylindrical pin which is engaged in a fork-shaped opening of the printer housing. One disadvantage of such an arrangement is that this fastening device makes it possible to attach peripheral devices essentially only to the top of the unit, since the peripheral device is held in place generally only by means of gravity.